Exciting Times and Tales

Claire and Chloe's vacation reports were fun and interesting. They talked about the "heated" pool that they swam in, and some girls that were swimming at the same time and that had to go eat their dinner. For some reason that made a big impression on them. They told about the snake that Daddy caught, the dinosaurs they saw (using terms like Stegosaurus and Tyrannosaurus), the rocks they found, the sand castles they built, the wood that was floating in the water and that Mommy picked up, and how Mommy saved their shovel when the ocean started to take it away. It sounds like the whole family enjoyed their get-away and they came home refreshed and rejuvenated. They spent two days at the Tu Tu Tun Lodge where we had been the weekend previously.


Below you see Chloe trying on her new swimsuit and coverup. She was doing a "fashion twirl", something they sometimes do after getting dressed in the morning, and often if they get something new to wear. The girls enjoying their bean burritos, one of their favorite lunches.



Chloe, feeding her sister at breakfast time one morning last week. This went on for quite a while; I guess Chloe was full.

Below, Claire helps Chloe put her shoes on. Actually Claire doesn't put her own shoes on, and usually Chloe does do her own, but at this moment Chloe claimed she needed assistance.

Below are a few pictures from Sunday School this week. I love the look on Claire's face as she looks at the girl next to her. Claire enjoyed the time much more than Chloe did. Chloe didn't want to hear a story or color. She "needed" her Mommy & Daddy. She warmed up a bit eventually, especially for snack and outdoor playtime. It won't take long for the girls to enjoy the routine of class time and sitting down for story time. Practice makes perfect!

On to a new week and some new adventures!

A Full Week!

We often tell "Once upon a time stories" when we are with the girls. The stories are always about two little girls named Claire and Chloe. We usually somehow incorporate into the story their phone number and address. Here Chloe was beginning to tell me a "Once upon a time" story. When I asked her the name of the street they lived on at first she said, "I don't know" but then she quickly responded with "Oleander, California"...if you listen carefully, you can pick that up. Then, she tells me, "Someone's at the door". End of story.

Chloe refers to her doll as her sister. She says she is "holding her sister" responding to Claire's "What's going on?" and Claire discovers her helmet.

Claire with her bike helmet.

Bracelets work as earrings too!

The girls were sure Papa should be coming. Here they are having a look, just to make sure, and also checking out the rain.

We sing "Good Morning Merry Sunshine" often. Claire and I were trying to work on getting the sun out on this, another rainy day. Shortly after we sang, we went to the Mall to get out of the house and get some exercise. The girls enjoyed the Mall toys shown below, even without putting coins in them to make them go. They walked the full length of the Mall and back, with a mission to get some new rain boots. We were not successful that day, but not because Chloe didn't try hard to find some. She asked a lady who had stopped to chat with them if she had any rain boots and then walked up to a jewelry kiosk and asked a young man if he had any rain boots. I was able to find boots the following day but Claire and Chloe were not along. When we dropped them off you would have thought we had brought a boatload of candy. They were so excited to get them.

Mommy went to Costco and the fun came after, when Claire and Chloe enjoyed the box.
Even though Claire weighs a bit more than Chloe, she somehow convinced Chloe that she needed to be the rider most of the time.

Enjoying curly noodles "just like Claire's hair" for lunch.

Below you see the girls loaded up for a weekend trip to Oregon. They had talked all week about seeing the ocean and building sand castles. We had offered to keep the girls so that Mommy & Daddy could get away, but Mike's response was, "Oh no, Mom, the girls haven't seen the Redwoods." :) Hopefully they are putting their boots to good use and having a wonderful time as a family.

Families, Both Real and Imagined!

Early last week Great Grandpa Ove visited Claire and Chloe's house. Here we see Claire talking up a storm with him. I believe he didn't understand everything she was saying, but he kindly acknowledged her conversation by saying things like, "Is that so?" "Really?" Very sweet!

Here is Chloe's precious little face and following that shot you can see her socks. I told her that her feet felt cold and maybe we should put some socks on. She responded by saying, "I'll do it myself." She did do it by herself and here are the socks she picked out and put on.

Claire continued with her gathering and family theme. On this particular day, (actually for a couple of days) she would gather all the little balls. She carried them around in a basket part of the time but also spread them out on surfaces where Chloe would send them sailing off onto the floor. Claire said they were a family and she gave them names, Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Jon, Uncle Eric, and Aunt Suzie. Chloe enjoyed her mischievous way to breakup the family. :):)

In the following little film Chloe is making her pin-wheel work. Claire is saying "no, no, no," but I am not sure what her issue was at that moment.

On Wednesday, Papa and Grandma took off on a little adventure. We drove to Medford, Oregon visited with Papa's Aunt Wanda and her husband Linc, enjoying a dinner out with them, as well as a yummy breakfast in their home the following morning. After that we headed to Gold Beach for a stay at Tu Tu Tun Lodge, a beautiful and luxurious place on the Rogue River. We haven't experienced such a serene and quiet place in a long time. We read, relaxed, and enjoyed the beauty of the area and the view from our room.

We also did some exploring in the area and enjoyed a crisp but beautiful day on Friday.

Claire and Chloe are very interested in dinosaurs at the moment. We could not pass up an opportunity to photograph Papa with this dinosaur along Highway 101. We have several other shots that I have printed and will share with the girls tomorrow. I think they will love them.

Our final event for the get away was lunch with our long time and dear friends Bill and Susan in Eureka. It was great to see them and catch up on things. Our drive home over the infamous, and not well traveled Highway 36, was uneventful, although it rained and we watched the temperature go down rapidly as our car climbed over the mountains. I held my breath and prayed that it would not change to snow and fortunately, it did not. We have driven that route many times over the years and never had a real problem, however, you would not want to experience car problems on that road because you are virtually on your own.

We look forward to a new week coming up and time with Claire and Chloe again. There is nothing better for the soul than time with family and friends both near and far.

Easter Week

We had some outdoor time this past week. It was chilly but when the sun is out we just can't resist taking off to the out of doors. Chloe stated this week, "Grandma, I love to play outside."
Here she is doing a little gardening. Part of the time as she moved little bits of dirt she would say, "I'm a nurse". We are clueless to the connection between planting and being a nurse.

We had lots of fun times inside as well, using our imaginations cooking, tasting, shopping, and reading and playing with the toy animals. Claire continues to gather groups of animals and refers to them as a family. Chloe surprised me this week with her knowledge and recognition of letters. The girls have a set of 26 books, each book shaped like a letter of the alphabet and inside are words with pictures of items that begin with that letter. As Chloe was pulling out the books from the case, one by one, she was saying what letter it was. She knew at least two-thirds of the letters. I was amazed.

Easter was a special day, as always, for us. After church the family gathered at Papa and Grandma's house along with one of Uncle Jon's good friends. Our church had three services and the middle service was a "family" service and many children were there. Claire and Chloe did very well for not having been in a church service previously. They had color books and snacks and at one point when we were singing a hymn, Claire was singing her ABC song. Chloe announced when the music was over that she was "ready to go now". All in all, they did very well. The downside to Easter this year, was that Papa was quite sick and didn't even leave his bed. He was very concerned that no one get exposed to whatever he had...that had hit him like a ton of bricks on Saturday. Also the weather was less than beautiful, actually very cold and raining. Below you see the girls in their Easter dresses, playing the piano and then on the couch with Claire giving us her squinty grin.

Here we see the girls examining their Easter baskets.....

And later on an indoor egg hunt....

Lastly, Uncle Jon puts Chloe through the basketball hoop. She was giggling and having such fun. Papa and Grandma had gotten the basketball set as well as a little T-ball set to have lots of fun with outside. The outside part didn't work out for this gathering, but they were able to have a little fun inside. Next visit we will most certainly make use of them.

On to a new week.....